Wrapping a halter in fleece/flannel

My mare rubs in the same place (by the throat clip) and vet wrap didn’t work for us. I DO use halter tubing in that area and slide it up over the clip. Also she wears a fly mask under the halter no questions asked as that helps with preventing rubbing as well. Unfortunate that your BO puts the fly mask on top!

Right? Seems the fly mask underneath might mitigate the rubs.

I’m new to the barn and kind of don’t feel comfortable asking for special favors quite yet.

I’m going to try some duct tape, and if that doesn’t work I will talk with the BO.

… I’m still interested in how to wrap a halter though, as that used to be a super common thing before all the fancy doo-dads came out for halters and comfort… @Texarkana?

Wrapping halters in flannel is an old-school racetrack thing. At the racetrack, many of the grooms still use traditional flannel standing bandages with no velcro-- the kind where you buy a bolt of vanilla flannel, and rip it into 6"x9’ strips. There are often old wraps laying around, with chewed edges or holes, and those are used to wrap halters. I’ve only seen it done a couple times, but it isn’t complicated. Start with a 6" - 20" piece of bandage flannel (depending on the length of leather), wrap once around and spiral across the leather piece (noseband, cheek piece, crown piece) until you get to the other ring/buckle. Secure the ends with masking tape (used on standing bandages anyway in addition to pins). Wrapping halters this way is commonly done because the materials used are always at hand anyway…it’s not like the trainer/grooms have to go buy special things to wrap halters, they use what’s already laying around.

Halters are wrapped like this for shipping, and it’s usually taken off when the horse arrives at its new track. It’s not meant to be “thick” or cushioned, just something soft to prevent hair loss for a long van ride.

I’m not sure I would use flannel for your purpose (horse wearing halter in turnout). It will absorb sweat and moisture (rain?) and get grubby; the crust could lead to its own rubs in other places. I would be more inclined to use duct tape or vetwrap, as they would be less likely to soak up water and get grungy. I used vetrap on a cribber’s Miracle Collar; he used to get awful rub sores around his ears from the plain leather straps. I replaced the vetrap every 6 months or so and it eliminated the rubbing and allowed his skin to heal.

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I third just using duct tape. I have the same issue with the buckles on my mare’s GreenGuard halter. Duct tape solve the issue. Same tape has been working for over a year now.

If you want a fly mask solution, get one of the slip on Lycra fly masks. Then it has to go on first, with halter over. Based on another thread on this forum, I tried the Professional’s Choice one and it works a charm!

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Another vote for duct tape :heavy_check_mark:
Won’t rub or attract scratchy stuff.
Bright colors are a bonus if you need to locate a halter “lost” in a pasture.
Mini is currently sporting Safety Yellow on the cheekpiece of his muzzle - worn ~15hrs daily - and no rubs.
I used it to shorten the cheekpiece so he couldn’t rub the muzzle off. Tape has been on for months.

Re: the PC Lycra flymask
I used one to protect a scratched cornea for about a month.
In that time both ears shredded & the loop on top to secure to the halter came off.
So, not really durable :expressionless:

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For what it’s worth I have a little ditch dog with super pink sensitive skin. The nylon stitched corners of her harness irritated her so I wrapped them in blue electrical tape ( harness was blue) years ago. Still holding strong. I would guess duct tape or electrical tape would work well.

I use Gorilla duct tape & it is just about permanent!

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For what it’s worth I love this halter for my tb prone to rubs:


It’s super lightweight and soft and is the only thing I have found that doesn’t give her rubs in the trailer. I think fuzzies make it worse sometimes especially in the summer when it makes them sweat more… then itch more.
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We would use an old flannel bandage and tear strips off it so that they were only about 2" wide. Then you just wrap it around as Eventer AJ described. The barn I worked at never had tape so we would just sort of tie it through the rings. It was only for the van ride because most horses only wore their halters when being handled or shipped. I use vetwrap a lot for cushioning on halters or muzzles and then top with duct tape to make it smooth. I find that wheen the fleece gets wet it can be irritating.

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Thank you for sharing that link @ClassyJumper, those look like very neat halters. I might have to get one. The price is right too.

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I go to the craft store and buy the cheap fake fur. Cut it into the strip sizes I want, wrap it around where it’s rubbing, and zip tie it on. Because it’s cheap and not from an actual animal I don’t feel bad throwing it away when it gets nasty.

Agree that flannel may not be ideal for this purpose unless you want to change and wash it frequently. I’m sure the fly mask situation and leaving the halter on underneath is the main culprit. I would ask them to put fly mask on then halter and/or remove halter for turnout.

There are nylon halters with built in fuzzies but not in those locations. And if you wrap the buckles and the throat latch, how do you get it on and off?

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The fly mask underneath can still lead to rubs. Halter putting pressure on the fly mask against their face…

It is for sure worth a try, but it has never worked for me. I almost think there are more rubs with the fly mask underneath.

I’d do one of the PC fly masks under the halter if possible as a best solution. I have one that’s on its third summer that I’ve only had to repair one tiny rip - and the horse it goes on is NOT gentle with masks. Now the knock-off brands? You’re lucky if those last a single day before disintegrating. Lol.

If that’s not possible, then VetRap or duct tape, in a bright color. I’ve had good luck with both on grazing muzzles to prevent rubbing.

We always used halter fleece with the velcro. Cut to fit where you want it and easy to replace if you need to. I don’t know about flannel as I haven’t used it .

Did we ever find out why the halter is needed? Barn policy?

Again, I’m new at this place. Haven’t even been here a month. Her halter was being taken off at my previous barn because I was paying the barn kids more to do it (she kept breaking the fuse). Here the fencing is electric so my moronic mare can’t keep sticking her head under and getting her halter caught on the way back out, so the fuse breaking has stopped.

Let me try some management things on my own before I ask the BO to deviate from her standard procedure. I’m one of two boarders so I don’t want to be “that guy”.

That might work for the throat latch area. The buckle area worked east to get the duct tape on, the throat latch not so much.

Maybe I could just cut the throat latch off, and make it like a grooming halter?